


the clock stopped ticking forever ago

by MiniNephthys



Category: 1bitHeart (Video Game)
Genre: Gen, Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-22
Updated: 2015-09-22
Packaged: 2018-04-22 20:00:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 715
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4848542
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MiniNephthys/pseuds/MiniNephthys
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's Mikado's birthday.</p>
            </blockquote>





	the clock stopped ticking forever ago

It’s not Mikado’s birthday.

Today is September 22nd, but it’s not his birthday.

He came into existence on February 29th. Most years he celebrates it on the 28th, for obvious reasons. This year he didn’t celebrate it at all: he bought his past self cake and pizza, and played video games with him until late hours of the night.

He doesn’t often spoil Nanashi, but his birthday seems like the right day to treat him to whatever he wants. Nanashi doesn’t ask for much, even when it’s his special day. Mikado didn’t, either.

Because September 22nd is not his birthday, it takes a minute for him to realize why there is a plate of slightly burnt waffles on the table near his bed. He gets up, to see if Nanashi has left his breakfast in his room for some reason.

Nanashi sticks his head through the door and pouts at him. “Don’t get up, you’re having breakfast in bed! It’s your special day!”

...Ah, it’s the day he’d picked for this identity to have been born on. He’d forgotten.

“Thank you, Nanashi. They look delicious.” Obligingly, Mikado sits back down in bed and eats the waffles. They’re a little charred, but still edible, and Mikado’s had worse, usually with much less affection put into it.

When Mikado’s done eating, Nanashi plops down on his bed beside him. “So what do you want to do for your birthday?”

“I was planning to go to work,” says Mikado.

“You’ve got tons of days off though! Unless, you think maybe your coworkers will make you a cake?” asks Nanashi.

“I doubt that. I’m not particularly close with any of them.” The Master Program is the only project he’s worked on lately, and he’s done it alone. He doesn’t think anyone there knows him well enough to even know what his birthday is supposed to be.

“Then you’ve got no reason not to stay home,” Nanashi says. “Working on your birthday is depressing!”

“Well, if you insist. I’ll just go for a little while, and then come home.” Mikado ruffles Nanashi’s hair, then goes to get ready for work.

(He’s right: not even his immediate superior knew it was his birthday. He gets some awkward well-wishes when he mentions it as the reason he’s going home early. His boss is much more attuned to social niceties than he himself will ever be.)

When he comes home, the first sound he hears is Nanashi swearing in the kitchen. Mikado finds him there, covered with flour and sugar and looking at a mess of what was probably intended to be a cake.

“I don’t need you to make me anything,” he says, while looking for a dish towel. Once he finds one, he starts wiping off Nanashi’s face. “It’s sweet enough that you remembered.”

“But, big bro!” Nanashi wipes his hands on his shirt. “I really want to do something that will make you happy!”

“I am happy,” Mikado replies, and frowns when Nanashi shakes his head. “No?”

“You’re kind of… lowkey happy, I guess? Content, maybe?” Nanashi speaks hesitantly, looking off to the side. “I’ve never seen anything really bother you, but you don’t get excited, either…”

Nanashi’s more observant than Mikado remembers being at his age. Mikado says, “I’m just not as energetic as you are. I must be getting old.”

“You don’t get to say that on your birthday until you hit twenty-five. It’s the rules,” Nanashi replies. “...Is it really just that?”

Mikado sighs and pulls Nanashi closer to him, not minding that he’s getting flour on himself. “I’ve never thought of today as a big deal,” he says, which is true. “But it really does mean a lot to me that you care, even if I don’t show it very well.”

That part’s true, too. Nanashi’s affection for him is probably the most genuine affection either of them have ever felt.

“That doesn’t help me get you presents,” says Nanashi, the pout almost audible in his voice. Then, more gently: “I love you too, big bro. Happy birthday.”

“Thank you,” Mikado says, and means it. “If you insist on doing something, how about after you get cleaned up, we play some games together?”

Nanashi nearly trips over himself in his haste to get to the shower.


End file.
